Last



July 3, 1923. 1,460,450

y L. F. SMALL LAST Filed March 29 1918 Patented July 3, 1923.

UNITED...STATES" PORATED, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK.

LAST.

Application filed March 29, 1918. Serial No. 225,551.

-' ing the lasting operation.

The muscles of the human foot are intended to exert a tractive effort inpropelling a person forward. Unfortunately, notwithstanding the boastedhighly developed art of shoe making, little or no care has been taken byshoe designers to obtain a shoe construction which would permit themuscles to exert their most efficient tractive effort.

This is 'due principally to the fact that new shoe styles are createdupon questions of appearance and so. designers skilled in an artisticsense have been developed instead of men of scientific tendencies whowould try to analyze the needs of the foot and then design a shoe tocooperate therewith.

Consequently in order for people to walk with shoes at presentconstructed the feet and legs must adapt themselves to the wrong shoeconstruction, Any movement of the footor leg other than is required topropel a person forward reduces the effective tractive effort exerted bythe muscles, wastes energy, and produces harmful conditions in the feet.This automatic adaptation of the foot or leg in walking is particularlynoticeable in the lateral twisting or rocking of the foot about theankle bone during-the time the shoe is engaged with the'ground. Onecause of this is due to the faulty construction of the bottom of thelasts upon which the shoes are made. These lasts have all been madeheretofore so that if the bottoms thereof are engaged with a fiatsurface and moved thereon in the same way a shoe moves on the ground inthe act of walkin the last will be seen to rock laterally. abviouslyashoe made on such a last will rock infthe same manner. 1

The object ofthe present invention is to produce a last for a shoewhich'will allow the muscles of the foot inside the shoe to exert aforward tractive effort only, thus obviating the dangerous lateral twistof the foot in walking.

To the accomplishment of this object, and such others as may hereinafterappear, the features of the invention relate to certain constructionsand arrangements of parts hereinafter described and then set forthbroadly and in detail in the appended claims which possess advantagesreadily apparent to those skilled in the art.

The various features of the present invention will be readily understoodfrom an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a plan of a last;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan, and

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation.

The last embodying the features of the present invention is providedwith an upper shaping surface 1 and a bottom 2. The surface 1 has a cone3. containing the usual spindle bushing 4 therein, andan instep ridge 5.The bottom of the last comprises a heel seat 6, a shank 7, and aforepart 8.-

In order to obtain a balanced construction I construct the bottom of mylast so that the median line 9 bisects the end curvatures of the toe andheel and divides the heel seat 6 into equal portions (Fig. 2). Theuppershaping surface 1, when out by LEWIS 12., SMALL, or snnrnrnnn,MASSACHUSETTS, YASISIGNVOR TO c.. c. BL:A n,;InooR1- a plane passingthrough the median line 9 bisects the end curvatures at the ends ofthelast. The median line 10 onfthe upper shaping surface 1 intersects thecenter line of the cone 3 and coincides with the ridgefi (Fig. 1). Y i

The bottom of the last is constructed so that any series of lines drawnat right angles to the median line 9 throughout the length of the lastare arranged in parallel planes (Fig. 3). With this construction theshoe made on the last will move on the ground during the act of walkingin a forward manner without any lateral rocking motion.

Obviously with this shoe the entire tractive effort of the foot musclesis exerted in propelling the wearer forward.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. A last having an upper shaping sure face and a bottom thereon, anyseries of tive tread surface of the heel seat lying in lines across thebottom of the last at right a plane parallel to the planes of any seriesangles to the median line throughout the of lines across the forepart ofthe last at 10 length of the last lying in parallel planes. right anglesto the median line thereof.

5 2. A last having an upper shaping sur- In testimony whereof I havesigned my face and a bottom thereon, said bottom comname to thisspecification. prising a heel seat and a forepart, the effeo- LEWIS F.SMALL.

